A Centre County man was sentenced on Thursday to two years in federal prison for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Terry L. Allen, 65, of Spring Mills, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta to serve two years of supervised release following his prison term. Federal prosecutors had sought a prison term of 70 months, while the defense requested an period home confinement and community service.
Allen was convicted on seven of eight charges after a bench trial in July, including a felony count of assaulting law enforcement with a deadly or dangerous weapon after video showed him throwing a metal pole at officers outside the Capitol. He was also found guilty on felony charges entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon, and engaging in physical violence in a restrict building or grounds with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
He was additionally convicted on misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct in a Capitol building and an act of physical violence in the Capitol grounds or buildings. He was acquitted of a second assault charge that accused him of using a flagpole to attack officers.
Earlier this week, defense attorney Kira West sought to have the sentencing delayed until after President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January. She argued the Trump has repeatedly vowed to pardon Jan. 6 defendants, and that Allen is “a worthy candidate” who “has a good chance” to receive a pardon.
“History has shown that President Donald Trump is not shy when it comes to exercising his pardon powers and there is clearly no reason to believe he won’t do as he says,” West wrote.
Justice Department prosecutors Joseph Marshall and Kathryn Bolas countered that, “there is a public interest in the prompt and efficient administration of justice.”
Allen traveled to Washington, D.C. multiple times between the November 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021 alongside members of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Salt & Light Brigade, “an offshoot of the far-right Pass the Salt Ministry that emphasized political confrontation using military rhetoric,” according to prosecutors’ sentencing memorandum.
On Jan. 6, “Allen fought with police at every opportunity,” the prosecutors wrote, and was “at the forefront” of the crowd that breached the security perimeter around the Capitol.
After law enforcement deployed pepper spray, “Allen turned his body sideways toward several of the officers, wound up, and threw the metal bar at the officer line standing feet from him,” according to the memorandum. Prosecutors also said that Allen used a wooden flagpole to repeatedly jab at officers.
In the defense’s sentencing memorandum, West portrayed Allen as a “peaceful, hardworking” person who owns an excavation business and volunteers in his community. He went to Washington, D.C., “to ask questions and find answers about what happened during the election of 2020.”
West wrote that Allen was a follower, not a leader, and that he was injured by other protesters. He threw the metal pole “reflexively” after being pepper sprayed, according to the defense memorandum.
“He wasn’t there to assault police officers, interrupt Congress or stop the vote,” West wrote.
Allen was arrested in July 2023. An FBI search of his home found 19 firearms, M-class fireworks, gunpowder and up to 20,000 rounds of ammunition, according to court documents. Among the firearms “was an AR-15 featuring an image of former President Donald Trump in an 18th century military officer’s uniform surrounded by the text, ’45th PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP – 1776 REBORN – JANUARY 20, 2017,” prosecutors wrote.
Allen is one of three men with Centre County ties to be convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.
Julian E. Khater, the former owner of Frutta Bowls in State College, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to two felony counts of assaulting officers with a dangerous weapon. He was sentenced in January 2023 to nearly seven years in federal prison, which at the time was the longest sentence handed down for anyone charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol.
Brian Gundersen, who resided in State College at the time of the riot, was found guilty in November 2022 of obstructing the congressional session and assaulting a law enforcement officer. He was sentenced in July 2023 to 18 months in prison.
